From Obscurity to RadianceThe MacGregor Park Teaching Gardens

Kristen Fahrig - MacGregor Park Art Club

macgregorparkartclub@gmail.com

MacGregor Park is located on Lansdowne Avenue north of College St. in the west end of downtown Toronto. It is one of the few green spaces in the Ward 18. The defining feature in the neighbourhood is the crossing of a number of railway tracks. Historically an industrial area, it became home to waves of immigrants, skilled labourers and trades people and it is one of the densest and most culturally diverse wards in the country. Concentrated areas of poverty are mingled with middle class neighbourhoods.

Project Description: From Obscurity to Radiance

MacGregor Park Art Club joins with multiple community partners on a ‘Park Improvement & Beautification Project’, expanding three small Teaching and Demonstration Garden sites in MacGregor Park currently run by Recreation Staff.

The Edible Plant Teaching Garden & Native Species Viewing Garden will become resources for local summer camps & daycares, social service agencies and school visits. They will be places of repose for the elderly and people passing through, provide food for people, birds & pollinators, encourage conversations about the diversity of urban wild life and increase knowledge of our shared green space. An Arbour/Archway at the entrance gardens, planted with grapes and scented flowers, will invite Torontonians regardless of age, language or ability, to join together and celebrate the renewal of a formerly forgotten urban park.

The MacGregor Park Art Club was formed in 2003 from a yearlong Residency in the park for Community Artist Kristen Fahrig, funded by the Toronto Arts Council and supported by Toronto Parks & Recreation.

At that time MacGregor Park was considered a dangerous and deserted ‘crack park’. The field house was boarded up and families would not allow their children to use the playground. Neighbours had heard about Kristen’s projects in other local parks and asked her to consider bringing positive, creative programming to MacGregor Park. Since that time Art Club has continued to involve the community in numerous integrated projects, from theatrical performances to physical enhancements of this shared public space with project funding from the arts councils. Art Club has also joined with the community to advocate for renovations to the field house. The building now has a space from which Recreation staff run Friday night suppers and other summer programming as well as a space for an Art Studio/Gallery.

In 2014 MP Andrew Cash presented the MacGregor Park Art Club with a BIG on Bloor Neighbourhood Award for bringing together community members through Art and Nature.

In 2012, with a recent Research & Development Grant from the Ontario Arts Council (Community Arts), the Art Club conducted consultations with park users to determine areas for improvement in terms of safety, activities and beautification.

Two primary concerns were identified:1. a perimeter fence around the park to ensure that children do not run out into busy streets (both Lansdowne and Wytock)2. expanded gardens, greening and opportunities to learn about nature through hands-on programming

A collaboration was formed with the Dovercourt Boys & Girls Club and a proposal was put forwardto the Weston Family Foundation, with support from the City Councillor and Toronto Parks & Recreation Management, for expansions to the current gardens. This application for two years of funding was successful and commenced in August 2014.

The funding covers part-time salaries for a Project Manager/Artistic Director and a Director of Gardens & Programming.

•Kristen Fahrig, Project Manager & Artistic Director Overall co-ordination of the project, liaison between all stake-holders, in particular with Parks & Recreation Management and Staff, develop governance funding strategy for future success of the gardens 2 days/week for 2 years

•Maria Solakofski, Director of Gardens & Programming Plan and build and care for the gardens in co-ordination with Recreation Staff and involving children, youth and community members, develop educational programming 2 days/week for 2 years

MacGregor Park Advisory Committee• Elizabeth Littlejohn, Community Liaison

Professor, New Media, Sheridan College, Interest in Permaculture• Jon Hayes, Executive Consultant Community Member, Educator, Specialist in Native Plants• Cindy Mason, Business Advisor Professor, Business Planning & Development, Ryerson University

Kristen approached a developer and secured a commitment of $30,000.00 to pay for beautiful, permanent infrastructure - iron fencing around the gardens and a large arbour/archway at the entrance gardens. Work on the Arbour began in 2014 with blacksmithing demonstrations in the park, funded by the Ontario Arts Council (Craft Projects) and the Ontario Artist Blacksmiths Association. Installation is set for Spring 2015 with a ribbon-cutting celebration of the creation of the gardens.

An essential goal of the MacGregor Park Teaching Gardens is community and, in particular, youth involvement in all aspects of the building, planting and caring for the gardens. Students from Ecole Secondaire Toronto Ouest (south border of the park next to the Edible Plant Garden) have been working with Recreation staff in the current gardens. With this expansion, Principal Norman Gaudet has offered the use of the school wood shop for built elements for the Edible Plant Garden - three raised accessible beds, the compost bins and the woven willow borders for the raised earth beds. This will be an after school program for Toronto Ouest students, local youth and youth from the Boys & Girls Club, led by Environmental Artist/Builder Morgan Zigler.

A request was put forwart to Live Green Toronto for Green Infrastructure funding - plant materials for the three gardens, building the accessible beds and willow edging, compost bins, shed, multilingual educational signage and hand tools (not provided by Recreation). The majority of this work will be done in the winter and spring of 2015.

CELOS (Centre For Research Into Local Public Space) is paying a specialist in garden accessibility for the MacGregor Park Gardens Project.

Toronto Parks, Forestry & RecreationThis project will work in support of and collaboration with Recreation Staff garden programs, which will continue 10 hours/week from May through October.Our Parks Supervisor, Lennox Morgan supports the project and has been assisting the process at every step. He has currently fenced off the two garden beds north and south sides of the park to create a visible presence and allow for the creation of a layered ‘Lasagna’ garden to begin soil preparation through the winter.Lennox has committed to building a Log Circle under a tree near the Edible Plant Garden that will double as a meeting place for garden programming as well as seating for the basketball/vollyball court.

From Obscurity to RadianceThe MacGregor Park Teaching Gardens

Project Team Bios

Kristen Fahrig, Project Manager & Artistic Director

As an Artist/Educator Kristen has taught Three Dimensional Design & Installation Workshops in Toronto area schools for over 20 years. She has developed and led many Community Art Projects over the past 15 years in her west end neighbourhood schools, parks and public gardens - most recently the Dundas Roncesvalles Peace Path - a collaboration between Toronto and New Credit First Nation communities. The 50 Cultural Figures on the exterior walls of Bishop Marracco/Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School received a Mayor’s Beautiful City Award in 2008. Community Arts Ontario has honored her with two Best Practices Awards in recognition of Equity & Diversity Achievement. The Urban Infusion Project was an exhibition and performance in collaboration with the Dufferin Mall and the TDSB, 2004. The Neighbourhood Legacy Project resulted in permanent installations in three Toronto parks including the Sorauren Park Archway and Butterfly Garden, 2003.

Kristen formed the MacGregor Park Art Club with park neighbours in 2004 - using an integrated art-making process to bring positive, creative activities into the park, with a focus on safety and beautification. In 2012 she received national recognition for this work from the Canada Council for the Arts - the Victor Martin Lynch-Staunton Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement in Integrated Arts.

Maria Solakofski, Director of Gardens & Programming

Maria was the Expansion Specialist for the High Park Children's Garden programs for three years. This included supporting 35 gardens that already existed throughout the city at City of Toronto Community Recreation Centres, as well as developing two new focus centres each year. Each focus centre would receive consultation from the idea stage through to execution, and continuing program design and staff training to deliver the programming. Maria introduced systems to encourage sustainability by making a strong emphasis on Community Engagement. The gardens that she worked on are still running strong. She currently works as a consultant with the Children's Eco Program. Maria lives three minutes from MacGregor Park and has been a regular visitor to the park, along with her young daughter, since moving into the neighbourhood two years ago.

Morgan Zigler, Environmental Artist/Builder

As an Artist/Arts Educator Morgan has developed and taught experiential art/nature classes, workshops and collaborative installations using various media and techniques in schools as well as at the Evergreen Brickworks Gardens where he is artist-in-residence. He has an arts degree from Glasgow School of Art and has studied Sustainable Land Use, Permaculture Design and Sustainable Forestry at Kingston Maurwood Agriculture College. Morgan specializes in woven wattle fencing and garden installations and will be working with the youth to create the internal built elements for the Edible Plant Garden.

MacGregor Park Teaching GardensMacGregor Park Art Club

In a transformative two-year project, the MacGregor Park Art Club will expand three teaching gardens in this busy urban park. These will be a Native Species Viewing Garden, an Edible Plant Teaching Garden with a Log Sitting Circle as well as the construction, installation and planting of an Arbour/Archway at the entrance of the park.

The Weston Family Foundation has partially funded the project - part-time salaries for the Project Manager and Director of Gardens & Programming. The seeds & plants, building of raised beds, composters, stone herb spiral, multilingual educational art/signage, a shed & some hand tools will be funded through a grant from Live Green Toronto.

This project is supported by Management & Staff of the City of Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation.As well, formal collaborations for this project have been established with the Dovercourt Boys & Girls Club, Ecole Secondaire Toronto Ouest (use of their wood shop for building), Food Share and CELOS (Centre for Local Research into Public Space) as well as many other community partners.

Ecole Secondaire

Aragon - Enigma

Ecole SecondaireToronto Ouest

MacGregor Park - Garden Expansion Locations Native Species Viewing Garden

This garden (45’ x 15’) will be built at the north edge of the park at the busy corner of St. Helen’s and Whytock, formerly the location of four cement planters.

Surrounded by a solid iron loop-top fence 42” high with one gate and incorporating artful multilingual signage.

Stake-out has been completed, planters and cement curbs removed and garden is now surrounded with snow fencing so that a ‘lasagna garden’ can be built this fall, preparing the soil for spring planting.

Arbour/Archway

A large Arbour/Archway (12’ long x 17’ high) is being built by blacksmiths in demonstrations in the park (with funding from the Ontario Arts Council) and will be installed in the spring 2015, spanning the two garden beds at the entrance feature of the park.

It will be planted with grape vines, flowers and edible plants. This will enhance the focus of these garden beds - fruit & herbs – serviceberry, strawberries, lavender etc.

Edible Plant Teaching Garden

An enlargement of the current garden at the south of the park from 40’ x 10’ to 50’ x 25’ with built elements – iron perimeter fence with two gates, raised beds for accessability (elders, wheelchair etc), compost bins, garden shed, woven willow trelles’. A storage shed and a log sitting circle will be along the chain link fence opposite the garden.

Stake out has been completed and garden is surrounded with snow fencing so that a ‘lasagna garden’ can be built this fall, preparing the soil for spring planting.

From Obscurity to RadianceThe MacGregor Park Teaching Gardens

MacGregor Park Art Club

Measures of Success

The goals of this project are two-fold:

First, to expand the diversity of plant life in this urban park which will support other life forms such as pollinators and birds in an area of the city which is undergoing a rapid increase of human population density. There has been a huge loss of wild lands along the railway tracks as they are are being built over with condo developments and the expansion of the GO lines. - Numbers and diversity of plant-life can be quantified as well as changes in pollinators and birds through observation.

Second, to mitigate ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ by creating opportunities for people to actively participate in the building and caring for the gardens. Children living in small condos and apartments in this neighbourhood, who grow up without being able to run barefoot on the earth, can only benefit from hands-on digging and direct observation of the wonders of nature’s life cycles. Being a spectator of a digital ‘natural’ world does not suffice to strengthen our interconnection with Nature. - Numbers of direct participants can be quantified.

Anticipated Numbers of Participants

MacGregorPark, formerly a deserted ‘crack park’, has experienced tremendous renewal over the past 10 years through a collaboration between the MacGregor Park Art Club, Recreation Staff and Community Members and more recently through condominium development along the rail lands. It is now a busy neighbourhood hub.

Direct - Hands-on Building, Planting & Caring for the Gardens

Year 1- August 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015

August through November 2014- Preparing Soil, Building Infrastructure

Youth (Boys & Girls Club, E.S. Toronto Ouest) 100Neighbour Volunteers 20Ryerson Student Volunteers 20October Celebration Hallowe’en with Blacksmiths 200

February through July 2015- Plantings, Educational Programming- Building raised beds, woven edging, compost bins, shed etc.

Local Daycares, Public Schools, Community Centres 700Neighbour Volunteers 40Romero House (Refugee Hospices) 20& other Social Service Agencies 20Youth (Boys & Girls Club, E.S. Toronto Ouest, Ryerson Students) 500Spring Seed Festival 100

Year 1 - Total Direct Hands-on Participants 1,720

Year 2 - August 1, 2015 to July 31 1016

August through November 2015- Caring for the Gardens, Harvesting, Educational Programming including Cooking & Preserving Workshops

Local Daycares, Public Schools, Community Centres 700Recreation - Friday Night Suppers, Outdoor Cafe & Campfire 500Neighbour Volunteers 40Romero House (Refugee Hospices) 20& other Social Service Agencies 20 Youth (Boys & Girls Club, E.S. Toronto Ouest, Ryerson Students) 500Berry Festival 100October Celebration 200

April through July 2016- Plantings, Educational Programming

Local Daycares, Public Schools, Community Centres 500Neighbour Volunteers 40Romero House (Refugee Hospices) 20& other Social Service Agencies 20Youth (Boys & Girls Club, E.S. Toronto Ouest) 500Spring Seed Festival 200

Macgregor Park Art Club Programming related to the Gardens 300

- Woven Sculpture from Willow & Plant Materials, Bird House Design/Build, Bees Wax Candle-Making, Bird Call Music, Poet’s Corner, Making Plant Dyes/Paints, Eco Trellis Art, Moss Wall Art, Earth/Sand Castings, Terrarium Designs - Flag Pole – Seasonal Banners- Winter Solstice Lantern Festival on Arbour/Archway, Dipped Pine Cones, Fir Tree Decorating, Celebrity ChefYear 2 - Total Direct Hands-on Participants 3,660

Past Art Club Beautification Projects: left - Wading Pool Labyrinth (showing Field House in the background) above - Entranceway Garden Trellis with community artworks

Visibility

‘Lansdowne Avenue is a two-lane minor arterial roadway with a daily two-way traffic volume of approximately 16,000 vehicles and a speed limit of 40 km/h.’ May 15, 2012 Transportation Services Toronto and East York District

The MacGregor Park Teaching Gardens will be clearly visible from Lansdowne Avenue. Along with cars, trucks and transit buses, there are hundreds of pedestrians and cyclists passing by on a daily basis.

Indirect – Park Visitors Interacting with Staff

MacGregor Park is located in a dense downtown neighbourhood with people passing the park with every possible type of transportation. There are two major pedestrian/cyclist routes through the park to main roads and the rail path. There is a high school with a soccer field and running track to the south which brings many groups through the park to use those facilities. There is also a baseball diamond in the park which doubles as a fenced in dog walking park, and a basketball court which also hosts a volleyball league on Saturday afternoons/evenings.

Year 1 - August 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015

Neighbourhood use – wading pool, playground, picnics, Recreation 3,000Volleyball 300Baseball Day/night, adult/kids Leagues 500Dog Walkers 200Soccer 200Running Clubs joggers/runners/speed walkers 300Walk/Bike/Skateboard through traffic (from the bottom of St. Helen’s Access to Dundas Street and the Rail Path) 2,000Seniors, Tibetan, Roma, exercise groups 300Art Spin 300Portugal Festival Parade, which starts on Lansdowne Ave. at MacGregor Park 2,000MacGregor Park Annual Festival 400Community Compost Day 150

Year 1 - Total Indirect - Park Visitors Interacting with Staff 9,650

Year 2 - August 1, 2015 to July 31 1016

Numbers of visitors to the park as well as traffic passing by the park are expected to increase as the new park improvements and condo development in the area are completed.

Year 2 - Total Indirect - Park Visitors Interacting with Staff 11,000

For Youth interested in participating in: Building Workshops beginning in February and/or

Willow Collecting and Weaving Workshops beginning in the Spring

Please contact Kristen Fahrig, Artistic Director & Project Manager, MacGregor Park Teaching Gardens

macgregorparkartclub@gmail.com

Future Support of the Gardens beyond this Two-Year Project

These gardens are meant to be assets for the Recreation Garden Programs into the future.

Through the Weston Family Foundation funding, the MacGregor Park Art Club is undergoing a process of change towards the establishment of not-for-profit and eventually charitable status. This new organization, with a new name, focused on Arts and Nature in the urban environment, will have as one of its its mandates the continuation of the MacGregor Park Teaching Gardens and garden programming.

But beyond that, the life of Edible Garden will continue to sustain itself:• because the inherent design of this garden is based on permaculture principles (which requires less work each year, viewing

nature as an ally rather than something to be conquered);• from the commitment of partnerships who will have already spent two years participating and coordinating;• through donations from our community groups and other local businesses• with funding raised by our dedicated fundraiser• small amount of revenue possible from garden activities such as harvest events (2 yearly), Sunday suppers (May to October),

and seedling sales

Arbor Archway and Native Species Gardens will be self sustaining and will only require occasional cleanup

Communications Plan

Art Club programs have traditionally been promoted locally through fliers posted in and around the park, schools, coffee shops, community centres, neighbouring streets and in mailboxes.Through a recent Research and Development Grant from the Ontario Arts Council (Community Arts) we have formalized an email database and towards the creation of a newsletters. The newsletter goes out to local press as well as park-users who sign up.

With this project we anticipate at least two celebratory events Spring & Fall over the two years necessitating the creation of four newsletters and four fliers.

Recognition: Partnerships are recognized through these two promotional tools. With many partnerships in the creation of the gardens, it is yet to be determined with the City of Toronto Parks & Recreation how permanent acknowledgement could be best placed in the gardens.

Garden Designs

The garden expansions are designed to blend into the historic aesthetic of the park, with an eye to its future:

The Native Species Viewing Garden will be surrounded by a loop-top fence that will blend with the anticipated perimeter fence envisioned for the park and have artwork/signage similar to the plaques created for garden trellis’. The garden itself is a long rectangle shape with a narrow path running in the centre along its length to accommodate direct viewing by groups.

The Edible Plant Teaching Garden at the south end of the park will have a more elaborate perimeter fence with two gates. This garden is designed for hands-on participation.

Use of Produce from the Edible Plant Teaching Garden1. Incorporation into programming for the youth and children participating in programs (peas to eat on the spot, cherry tomatoes, tasting of variety of salad greens).2. Teaching harvest and preserving techniques for youth and children through programming (cooking, drying, baking). Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club has a fabulous decked out kitchen and they could receive produce for their cooking programs.3. Share/offer for volunteers and community groups who help in the garden.4. Used by Recreation staff for Friday night suppers.5. Used by neighbourhood celebrity chefs at our Harvest Festival. Two chefs have also expressed interest in purchasing our produce to help our fundraising efforts.6. Any additional programming or workshops hosted by Recreation staff 7. Dried herbs made into tea blends and sold at farmer's market or West End Food Co-op8. Seeds harvested for exchange or give-away at community seed event

The Arbour Archway spans two existing gardens on either side of the entrance walkway at the corner of Lansdowne and Wytock Avenues

All gardens have Water and Truck Delivery Access.

MacGregor Park Teaching Garden - DesignsMacGregor Park Art Club

Stone Herb Spiral

MacGregor Park Teaching Garden - DesignsMacGregor Park Art Club

Our Edible Plant Teaching Garden Inspiration:Gustav Klimt - ‘Tree of Life’

Examples of woven edges for garden beds

MacGregor Park - Forged Arbour/ArchwayMacGregor Park Art Club

Note:The distance between the uprights will be 24” (not 36”).The Arbour will measure 12’ long and 17’ high.

A contemporary forged iron design with traditional blacksmithing joinery techniques - slitting & drifting, punching & riveting.

MacGregor Park Teaching GardensMacGregor Park Art Club

Preparing the Gardens - October/November/December 2014

Director of Gardens & Programming, Maria Solakofski with Garden Club volunteers from Ecole Secondaire Toronto Ouest collect cardboard and leaves to kill the grass and build up the soil in preparation for spring.

MacGregor Park Teaching GardensMacGregor Park Art Club

1. Garden Club volunteers shovel compost donated by Food Share

2. A delivery of wood chips arrive from Toronto Tree Removal

3. Garden Club volunteers begin layering the ‘Lasagna Garden’ in the Edible Teaching Garden

MacGregor Park Teaching GardensMacGregor Park Art Club

Above: Orlando from Food Share stops by to lend a hand with spreading out the wood chips on the Native Species Garden. The steam rising

shows that the pile is already ‘working’, breaking down to create great soil for the spring!!Below:

Carmen, our awesome and knowledgable volunteer.

Dear Neighbours, this is the future site of a Native Species Garden.

Please DO NOT DUMP garden waste or Christmas trees here.

MacGregor Park Teaching GardensMacGregor Park Art Club

Left:The design for the Edible Teaching Garden is laid

out using carnival beads

Below:With a lot of effort from many community

volunteers, our ‘Lasagna Garden’ has been completed before winter sets in.

‘Cardboard is the Dish’‘Wood Chips are the Noodles’

‘Leaves are the Cheese’‘Compost is the Tomato Sauce’

‘Soil Amendments are the Herbs & Spices’